Average American spends 13 hours online

According to a Harris Interactive survey of U.S. Internet users, it appears the average users spends about 13 hours a week online, however, the range is very large.

Over the past decade, online time has doubled from just under 7 hours in 1999 to the current survey results. At its peak, in October 2008 (during the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the upcoming election of President Obama), online time was over 14 hours.

For age breakdowns, the group spending the most time online was the 30-39 age group, with an average of 18 hours. 25-29 year-olds spent 17 hours on average, as did 40-49 year-olds. In total, there are about 184 million adults online, the same number for the most part as 2008.

“The increase in the number of hours spent online in the last two years compared to all previous years is striking. It probably reflects a growing ability to use the Internet, an increase in sites and applications, increased TV watching online and increased purchasing online,” said Harris. “Also, hours online may have increased because of the recession. Going online is free; going out usually costs money.”